and humble epi1it, becauee they may be ignorant, or ill-informed, or deeply prejudiced rrorn tho circumatances of their early training. JI. THE BENEP1T8 THAT Wll,T, ACCRUE ll'ROH BUCH METHODS 011' IN8TRU<7rl0IIT. "If God prro<lvcntnre will give them repentance nnto the knowledge of the truth, and they may n·cover themselves out of the snare of the devil, having been taken captive hy the Lord's servant unto the will of God." 1. A '111,Ulc and _gentle addreJJB may "ln-ing 11U1;h errwists to repent of their sin and accept the true doctrine of faith. It is possible to repel them by our harsh reproaches, We ought rather to show rbem the truth without passion, and enforce it with all the kindly urgency of true affection. The necessity uf repentance in such a case marks the essentially sinful character of opposition to the Lruth. 2. The servant of the Lwd may be tlM means of recovering out of error as well as Bin. (1) Error is the devil's snare as well ns sin, for it leads downwards to sin. It acts like a stupefying drink. (2) Some errorists a.wake out of their intellectual intoxi- cation, if they are wisely dealt with, and open their eyes to the blessed truth of the gospel. (3) The will of God once established in such hearts, as the guiding principle of life, completes the recovery from error.-T. C. Ver. 3.-Culture of strength. "Endure hardness." We are all endangered by ease and self-indulgence. 'l'he soft south wind of worldly comfort enfeebles us. Dangerous, for to the soldier nerveless strength is death; and the great campaign requires on our part energy and courage all through. I. IT IS HARD TO SUBJUGATE THE PRESE~T WOii.LO, In the fourth verse Paul speaks of the "affairs or this life," in which Timothy, like the rest of us, was in danger of" being entangled;" and unq 11estionably, apart from evil, the innocent side of the present life is most attractive to us, in all its forms of plea.sure-seeking and outward prosperity and honour. IL IT 1s HARD TO BUFFER REPROACH AND SHAME. How bard only those know who have felt the constant irritant of a relentless pe, secution for righteousness' sake. "I suffer trouble," says Paul, "as an evil-doer." Alid this was the great trial of the early Christians-not merely" bonds and imprisonments, but the calumnies which ma.de them the scorn of men. The grace of God can sustain us in all our tribulations ; but it requires" hardness" to" endure as seeing him who is invisible" when the character is subjected to human scorn and hatred.-W. M. S.
Ver. 21.-Fitnessfor service. "Meet for the Master's use.• Christ is our Lord as ,Yell as our Saviour. We are under a Master,. and must briug our thought in captivity nnto him. I. MEETNESs. For in man there is a power that grows by culture. Not so with the inferior animals. Take the bee: the first cell it makes is as geometrically perrect as the last. So take the bird: the first nest it makes is as soft and complete as the last. Bn t man can grow in meet11ess. Self-discipline meetens. Sorrow meetens. Suffering meetens. 11. MINISTRATIONS. Use. This characterizes all the works of Goo. The river is not only a silver thread running through the landscape; it brings freshness and verdure, and the cattle come to the banks to drink, and there is emerald verdure by the river- side. Ships, too, float on its waters. We are to be of usa to the Master. He deigns to 11se us. " Son, 11:0 work to-day in my vineyard." Many in this age dislike the word. "Master;" but we are always under some master, consciouely or unconsciously. w.. serve God or Mammon, and we cannot serve both. We are to attend t-0 spiritual means of grace, and to seek out modes of service, so as to be of use to the Maater.-W. M. S. Vera. 1-13.-Hardship in connection with the Christian mini•try. I. PuLlla:NABY EXHORTATION. 1. As to personal strtrngth. "'fhou therei'ore, my child, be strengtheneJ in the grace that is in Christ Jesus." As the apostle's power of working was already much crippled by close imprisonment, he naturally felt anxious regarding the future of Christ's cause. In callin" 'l'imothy his son, he does not formally nu.me him as hid successor. At the so.rue ti~e, lie may be regarded as looking to him as one like-minded, who had youth on his side, to continue the work which be fdt was passing out of his 1,ands. While Phygelus e.nd Hermogenes were untrue to him, and On~siphorus waa 11, Tl:rd0THY, TI 34 THE SEOOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. [oa. 11. 1-26.